Russian warship struck by Ukrainian drones in Gulf of Finland

The attack is thought to be the first time Ukrainian drones have attacked a Russian ship in an open stretch of the Baltic Sea.

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Nov 12, 2026, 21:23 UTC

A naval corvette sailing through choppy open waters under an overcast, moody sky in the Baltic Sea. — REAL NEWS HUB

A Russian naval vessel has been struck in the Gulf of Finland during a Ukrainian drone raid, marking the first reported strike against a Russian warship in the Baltic Sea since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion.

Finnish authorities confirmed the strike occurred on Wednesday in waters open to maritime traffic, though few technical specifics were released. Ukraine's SBU intelligence agency claimed responsibility, stating that the vessel targeted was the Naro-Fominsk, identified as a Buyan-M class corvette armed with Kalibr and Oniks cruise missiles. The maritime strike formed part of a coordinated overnight drone offensive directed at the Ust-Luga oil shipping hub situated on Russia's Baltic coast.

The strike is believed to have occurred around 05:30 local time in a restricted section of the gulf located away from Finland's shoreline. According to Estonian Defence Minister Martin Herem, smoke was observed billowing from the warship before the vessel retreated toward St Petersburg. The degree of damage to the corvette and whether any crew members were injured or killed has not been officially confirmed, as Moscow typically withholds casualty and damage reports from military engagements.

The extended overnight operation also hit Russia's commercial port facilities at Ust-Luga, where multiple storage tanks were reportedly struck. Fires burning at the coastal depot were visible from across the Estonian frontier. Herem noted that Ukrainian aerial drones operated in the district between midnight and early morning, mainly moving near the border inside Russian airspace, although one unmanned aircraft briefly crossed into Estonia from Latvia before turning back toward Russian territory.

Nato planes stationed across the region were airborne during the strikes, but officials determined it was unsafe to intercept the incoming drones. Addressing accusations from Moscow that Ukrainian forces used the territory of Baltic nations for the operation, Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesman Heorhiy Tykhyy rejected the claims as unfounded, though he noted that Russian electronic jamming can occasionally divert drones from their original flight paths.

While Ukraine has systematically attacked Russian naval targets across the Black Sea over the past two years, the Baltic Sea fleet had previously remained undisturbed by Ukrainian direct strikes. Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen emphasized that despite the unprecedented incident, maritime navigation in the area remains secure and poses no current danger to commercial shipping. Finnish authorities nevertheless noted that the gulf represents a congested passage shared by civilian vessels, oil tankers, and sensitive underwater telecommunications cables.

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